Method of forming sheet member, exhaust gas treatment apparatus including the sheet member, and muffling apparatus including the sheet member

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a sheet member includes feeding first raw slurry into a forming device, dehydrating the first raw slurry to form a first forming body, feeding second raw slurry including inorganic fibers having a minimum diameter substantially equal to or less than 3 micrometers on the dehydrated first slurry, dehydrating the second raw slurry to form a second forming body on the first forming body, feeding third raw slurry into the forming device, dehydrating the third raw slurry to form a third forming body on the first and the second forming bodies, and compressing and dehydrating a forming body having a three-layer structure where the third forming body is formed on the first and the second forming bodies to form a sheet member having a three-layer structure. The first and third raw slurries include inorganic fibers having a minimum diameter substantially greater than 3 micrometers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/020,226, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 to Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2007-016773 filed Jan. 26, 2007and 2007-337554 filed Dec. 27, 2007. The entire contents of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of forming a sheet member, anexhaust gas treatment apparatus including the sheet member, and amuffling apparatus having the sheet member.

2. Description of the Related Art

The number of vehicles has been dramatically increased from thebeginning of this century, thereby steadily and rapidly increasing theamount of exhaust gas exhausted from the internal combustion engines ofthe vehicles. Particularly, various materials included in the exhaustgas exhausted from diesel engines are responsible for causingcontamination, thereby seriously damaging the world-wide environment.

Under such circumstances, various exhaust gas treatment apparatuses havebeen conventionally proposed and put into practice. In a typical exhaustgas treatment apparatus, there is a casing made of, for example, metalin the middle of an exhaust gas tube connected to an exhaust gasmanifold of an engine, and there is an exhaust gas treatment member inthe casing. The exhaust gas treatment member has many cells eachextending in the longitudinal direction and separated from each other bycell walls. As examples of the exhaust gas treatment member, there arean exhaust gas filter such as a catalyst carrier and a DieselParticulate Filter (DPF). In such DPFs, one end surface of each cell issealed to form a checkered pattern and the particulates in exhaust gascan be removed by being trapped on the cell walls before the exhaust gasis exhausted from the exhaust gas treatment member. The typicalmaterials of the exhaust gas treatment member include ceramics inaddition to metals and alloys. As a typical example of the exhaust gastreatment member, cordierite honeycomb filter is known. Recently, poroussintered silicon carbide has started to be used as a material of theexhaust gas treatment members from the viewpoint of its properties ofthermal insulation, mechanical strength, and chemical stability.

Generally, a holding and sealing member is displaced between such anexhaust gas treatment member and a casing. The holding and sealingmember is used to avoid the contact between the exhaust gas treatmentmember and the casing so as to avoid damage while the vehicle is beingoperated and also avoid leakage of untreated exhaust gas through thegaps between the casing and the exhaust gas treatment member. Further,the holding and sealing member has a role to avoid the displacement ofthe exhaust gas treatment member due to the pressure of the exhaust gas.Still further, the holding and sealing member is required to be kept athigh temperature to sustain the reactivity, and to have thermalinsulation efficiency. As a member meeting the above requirements, thereis a sheet member made of inorganic fibers such as alumina-based fibers.

The sheet member is twisted around at least one part on the outersurface excepting an opening surface of the exhaust gas treatmentmember. For example, one end of the sheet member is engaged with theother end of the sheet member, and the sheet member is integrated withthe exhaust treatment member by, for example, taping, so as to be used.After the processes, the integrated parts are housed inside the casingto form the exhaust gas treatment apparatus.

On the other hand, the inorganic fibers included in such a sheet membertypically have various fiber diameters including extremely smalldiameters. Such fine fibers are apt to be scattered in all directionswhen being handled, so it is difficult to handle such fibers and,therefore, it is not good for the working environment and human health.For example, according to a report, inorganic fibers having a diameterof 3 micrometers or less are not good for human health. Because of thefeature, inorganic fibers may be subject to control in some areas (Forexample, Germany Technical Guideline TRGS905). The contents of GermanyTechnical Guideline TRGS905 are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

To solve the problem, there is disclosed a sheet member that does notinclude inorganic fibers having a diameter of 3 micrometers or less (seeJapanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-120560).

The contents of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-120560are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of forming asheet member which includes inorganic fibers includes feeding first rawslurry including inorganic fibers having a minimum diameter ofsubstantially greater than 3 micrometers into a forming device,dehydrating the first raw slurry to form a first forming body, feedingsecond raw slurry including inorganic fibers having a minimum diametersubstantially equal to or less than 3 micrometers on the dehydratedfirst slurry, dehydrating the second raw slurry to form a second formingbody on the first forming body, feeding third raw slurry includinginorganic fibers having a minimum diameter substantially greater than 3micrometers into the forming device, dehydrating the third raw slurry toform a third forming body on the first and the second forming bodies,and compressing and dehydrating a forming body having a three-layerstructure where the third forming body is formed on the first and thesecond forming bodies to form a sheet member having a three-layerstructure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an exhaust gastreatment apparatus includes an exhaust gas treatment member, and aholding and sealing member twisted around at least one part on an outercircumference surface of the exhaust gas treatment member. The holdingand sealing member includes a sheet member which includes inorganicfibers. The sheet member includes first and second outer layers, and acenter layer. The first outer layer, the center layer, and the secondouter layer are laminated with each other such that both the first andthe second outer layers are outermost layers. The center layer includesinorganic fibers having a diameter equal to or less than approximately 3micrometers. The first and the second outer layers include inorganicfibers having a diameter greater than approximately 3 micrometers.

According to further aspect of the present invention, an exhaust gastreatment apparatus includes an inlet tube and an outlet tube forexhaust gas, an exhaust gas treatment member disposed between the inlettube and the outlet tube, and a heat insulating member disposed at leaston a part of the inlet tube and including a sheet member which includesinorganic fibers. The sheet member includes first and second outerlayers, and a center layer. The first outer layer, the center layer, andthe second outer layer are laminated with each other such that both thefirst and the second outer layers are outermost layers. The center layerincludes inorganic fibers having a diameter equal to or less thanapproximately 3 micrometers. The first and the second outer layersinclude inorganic fibers having a diameter greater than approximately 3micrometers.

According to the other aspect of the present invention, a mufflingapparatus includes an inner pipe, an outer shell covering an outercircumference of the inner pipe, and a sound absorber including a sheetmember and provided between the inner pipe and the outer shell so that afirst outer layer of the sheet member faces the outer shell. The sheetmember includes inorganic fibers, first and second outer layers, and acenter layer. The first outer layer, the center layer, and the secondouter layer are laminated with each other such that both the first andthe second outer layers are outermost layers. The center layer includesinorganic fibers having a diameter equal to or less than approximately 3micrometers. The first and the second outer layers include inorganicfibers having a diameter greater than approximately 3 micrometers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a drawing showing an exemplary figure of a sheet memberaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing where a sheet member according toan embodiment of the present invention is integrated with an exhaust gastreatment member into a casing;

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing another sheet member according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cut-open view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically showing an exemplary configuration ofan exhaust gas treatment apparatus according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a drawing schematically showing an exemplary configuration ofa muffling apparatus according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of forming a sheet member basedon a “laminating method” according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of forming a sheet member basedon an “all-in-one forming method 1” according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a part of a fiber air erosion testingdevice;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a compression and restorationrepeated test device;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a relationship between a weight ratio ofouter layers with respect to the total weight of the sheet member andthe restoration pressure after 1,000 test cycles;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a relationship between the weight ratio ofouter layers with respect to the total weight of the sheet member andthe pressure reduction rate after 1,000 test cycles;

FIG. 13 is a graph showing a relationship between a thickness ratio ofouter layers with respect to the total thickness of the sheet member andthe restoration pressure after 1,000 test cycles; and

FIG. 14 is a graph showing a relationship between a thickness ratio ofouter layers with respect to the total thickness of the sheet member andthe pressure reduction rate after 1,000 test cycles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding oridentical elements throughout the various drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary figure of a sheet member (a first sheetmember) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.However, it should be noted that the figure of the sheet memberaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited tothe figure of the sheet member shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explodedperspective view of an exhaust gas treatment apparatus using the sheetmember according to one embodiment of the present invention as a holdingand sealing member of the exhaust gas treatment apparatus.

When a sheet member 30 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is twisted around an exhaust gas treatment member 20 such as acatalyst carrier to be used as a holding and sealing member 24 of anexhaust gas treatment apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, an engagementconvex part 50 and an engagement concave part 60 are provided on endfaces 70 and 71, respectively, perpendicular to the twisting direction(X direction) of the sheet member 30. When the sheet member 30 istwisted around the exhaust gas treatment member 20, as shown in FIG. 2,the engagement convex part 50 and the engagement concave part 60 engageeach other so as to fix the sheet member 30 in place around the exhaustgas treatment member 20. Then, the exhaust gas treatment member 20 withthe sheet member 30 twisted around is pressed into a cylinder-shapedcasing made of, for example, metal by, for example, a press-fit methodto produce an exhaust gas treatment apparatus 10.

The sheet member 30 according to an embodiment of the present inventionis made of mainly inorganic fibers, but may further include binder asdescribed below.

A sheet member 30 according to an embodiment of the present inventionincludes at least three layers: a first outer layer 82, a center layer84, and a second outer layer 86. The first outer layer 82, the centerlayer 84, and the second outer layer 86 are laminated to each other suchthat the first outer layer 82 and the second outer layer 86 are theoutermost surfaces. For example, in FIG. 1, the sheet member 30 isconfigured such that the first outer layer 82, the center layer 84, andthe second outer layer 86 are laminated in this order.

The center layer 84 is a sheet including inorganic fibers havingdiameters of approximately 3 micrometers or less (hereinafter referredto as “fine fibers”), or is, for example, a sheet member includinginorganic fibers conventionally used as a holding and sealing member ofan exhaust gas treatment apparatus. In contrast, the first outer layer82 and the second outer layer 86 include the inorganic fibers except the“fine fibers”.

When such a sheet member having a three-layer structure is beinghandled, the “fine fibers” included in the center layer 84 are unable tomove freely due to the first and the second outer layers 82 and 86,respectively provided on upper- and lower-most surfaces of the sheetmember. Because of this structure, the scattering of the “fine fibers”from the sheet member is reduced, thereby improving the handling of thesheet member and the working environment while the sheet member is beinghandled. Accordingly, the embodiment of the present invention mayprovide a sheet member with ease of operation.

Generally, when a sheet member including fibers having only largerdiameters is used as a holding and sealing member in an exhaust gastreatment apparatus, many fibers included in the sheet member may bebroken and damaged, thereby disadvantageously reducing the repulsivepower against an external compression stress and the holding power tohold the exhaust gas treatment member while the sheet member is beinghandled (that is, being twisted around an exhaust gas treatment memberor put into a casing) or the exhaust gas treatment apparatus is beingused. However, a sheet member according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes the “fine fibers” capable of improving the holdingpower. Thus, when the sheet member is used as a holding and sealingmember in an exhaust gas treatment apparatus, unlike the case where asheet member that does not include the “fine fibers” is used, thereduction of the holding power to hold the exhaust gas treatment membercan be attenuated, and an appropriate holding power to hold the exhaustgas treatment member can be thus maintained.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the upper limit ofa weight ratio “W” of the total weight of the first and the second outerlayers with respect to the total weight of the entire sheet member isnot limited to, but preferably equal to or less than approximately 50 wt%, and more preferably equal to or less than approximately 20 wt %. Onthe other hand, the lower limit of “W” should be any value more thanzero, theoretically. However, as long as the “W” is not extremely small,fine fibers included in the center layer 84 may not be scattered outsidethrough the first outer layer 82 and/or the second outer layer 86.Therefore, from a practical point of view, the lower limit of “W” ispreferably equal to or more than approximately 2 wt %. Further, itshould be noted that the weight of the first layer may be substantiallythe same as or may be different from the weight of the second layer. Forexample, the weight ratio of the first outer layer 82 to the secondouter layer 86 may be in the range between approximately 1:9 andapproximately 9:1.

Further, a thickness ratio “t” of the total thicknesses of the first andthe second outer layers with respect to the total thickness of theentire sheet member is, for example, but not limited to, approximately0<t≦ approximately 70%, preferably approximately 0<t≦ approximately 50%,and more preferably approximately 0<t≦ approximately 20%. Still further,the total thickness of the entire sheet member when the sheet member isplaced on a horizontal surface in a stationary status is, for example,in a range between approximately 5 mm and approximately 20 mm. Further,it should be noted that the thickness of the first layer may besubstantially the same as or may be different from the thickness of thesecond layer. For example, the height ratio of the first outer layer 82to the second outer layer 86 may be in the range between approximately1:9 and approximately 9:1.

However, when the thickness ratio “t” becomes extremely small, some finefibers included in the center layer 84 may be scattered outside throughthe first outer layer 82 and/or the second outer layer 86. Therefore,from a practical point of view, the lower limit of “W” is preferablyequal to or more than approximately 1%.

Further, the first and the second outer layers having a basis weight of,for example, but not limited to, from approximately 60 g/m² toapproximately 1,500 g/m² are typically used. The center layer having thebasis weight of, for example, but not limited to, from approximately 500g/m² to approximately 3,000 g/m² is typically used. Here, the basisweight refers to the total weight of the fibers included in a unit areaof the sheet member. However, when binder is included in the sheetmember, the basis weight refers to the total weight of the binder andthe fibers included in a unit area. Also, each layer having a bulkdensity of, for example, but not limited to, from approximately 0.07g/cm³ to approximately 0.30 g/cm³ are typically used.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, in general, asheet member having a bulk density of, for example, but not limited to,from approximately 0.07 g/cm³ to approximately 0.30 g/cm³ and having abasis weight of, for example, but not limited to, from approximately 500g/m² to approximately 3,000 g/m², respectively, is typically used.

It should be noted that, in the first embodiment, as for the inorganicfibers used for the first and the second outer layers, the inorganicfibers having an average diameter of, for example, but not limited to,in the range between approximately 5 micrometers and approximately 10micrometers can be used. However, it should be arranged that that “finefibers” are not included in the both outer layers. Because of thisfeature, in most cases, the minimum diameter of the inorganic fibersincluded in the first and the second outer layers is in the rangebetween approximately 3.1 micrometers and approximately 5.0 micrometers.Further, in the present invention, the specifications (average fiberdiameter, minimum fiber diameter, and forming method) of the first andthe second outer layers may be substantially the same or may bedifferent from each other.

On the other hand, the average diameter of the inorganic fibers includedin the center layer is in the range between approximately 3.0micrometers and approximately 8.0 micrometers. But the “fine fibers” mayalso be included in the center layer.

The average diameter of inorganic fibers included in each layer ismeasured by the following method. First, a sample of alumina-basedfibers obtained from each layer is entered into a cylinder and then iscrushed under a pressure of approximately 20.6 MPa. Next, the sample isput on a sieving screen to be sieved. The sample that has passed throughthe sieving screen is transferred to be a specimen of an electronmicroscope. After a material such as gold is evaporated onto the surfaceof the specimen, electron microscope pictures with approximately 1500times magnification of the specimen are taken. Diameters of at least 40fibers from the taken pictures are measured. This procedure is repeatedfor five separate specimens to obtain the average diameter of theinorganic fibers in the layer by averaging the measured values.

Also, the minimum diameter of the fibers included in each layer isobtained by the following method. The electron microscope pictures(approximately 1,500 times magnitude) in appropriate portions of each ofthe outer layers and center layer are taken. From the taken pictures (ofapproximately 50 fibers), the fiber having the minimum diameter isselected, and the diameter of the fiber is measured. The same operationbut in different portions of each layer is repeated to take additionalsix pictures. The minimum diameter from among the obtained diameters isselected as the minimum fiber diameter of the layer.

Further, when a sheet member is formed by the “needling processingmethod” described below, the density of needle traces in each layer ispreferably in the range between approximately 2.0 pieces/cm² andapproximately 20.0 pieces/cm². This is because when the density ofneedle traces is more than approximately 2.0 pieces/cm², the strength ofthe sheet member is not reduced. On the other hand, when the density ofneedle traces is changed in the range less than approximately 20.0pieces/cm², the bulk density is changed and the sheet member is hardenedand the handling won't be more difficult.

In the present application, “needle traces” refer to the fiberconfounding traces having a maximum size equal to or less thanapproximately 3 mm² generated on the sheet member when fiber confoundingunits such as needles are thrust into and pulled out of the sheet memberformed by the “needling processing method”.

As described above, the sheet member 30 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention is twisted around the outer surface of the exhaustgas treatment member 20 and is used after the ends of the sheet member30 are engaged with each other and fixed in place with a tape. Theexhaust gas treatment member 20 covered by the sheet member 30 is thenpressed into the casing 12 to form an exhaust gas treatment apparatus10.

Second Embodiment

Next, a configuration of another sheet member (a second sheet member)according to an embodiment of the present invention is described.

Like a sheet member 30 shown in FIG. 1, the second sheet member includesthe first outer layer, the center layer, and the second outer layer,those layers laminated in this order. However, in the second sheet, avalue “A”, calculated by the following formula (1), of the inorganicfibers included in the first and the second outer layers is greater thanapproximately 6 micrometers.

A=(M−2*e)  (1)

Where, a reference symbol “M” represents an average diameter of theinorganic fibers included in the outer layers. A reference symbol “e”represents a standard error given by the following formula

e=(σ÷√n)  (2)

Where, reference symbols “σ” and “n” represent the standard deviationand the number of measurements, respectively.

According to EU directive 97/69/EC, effective on 5 Dec., 1997, theregulations for the health and safety aspects of glass fibers in Europe(hereinafter referred to as “EU directive”), the inorganic fibers whosevalue “A” in the formula (I) exceeds approximately 6 micrometers areclassified as so-called “Note-R” and are not subject to control.

Therefore, in the sheet member having the above-mentioned first and thesecond outer layers (the second sheet member), even when the inorganicfibers are scattered from the first and the second outer layers, theinorganic fibers are unlikely to harm the human body. Further, asdescribed above, since the first and the second outer layers areprovided on both surface sides of the sheet member, the scattering ofthe “fine fibers” from the center layer is significantly controlled whenbeing handled. As a result, in such a sheet member, as described above,the handling of the sheet member becomes easier and the workingenvironment is improved. Further, since the sheet member includes the“fine fibers” contributing the improvement of the holding power, it ispossible to minimize the reduction of the holding power as much aspossible.

It should be noted that only when the relationship A> approximately 6micrometers is satisfied, the average diameters of the first and thesecond outer layer are not limited. As a result, unlike the firstembodiment, it should be noted that both the first and the second outerlayers may include some amount of “fine fibers”. On the other hand, inthe center layer, similar to the first embodiment, the “fine fibers” areincluded and the average diameter of the inorganic fibers is preferablyin the range between approximately 3.0 micrometers and approximately 8.0micrometers.

Third Embodiment

In the sheet member according to the first and the second embodiments ofthe present invention, the minimum diameter of the inorganic fibers inthe first and the second outer layers exceeds approximately 3.0micrometers and the inorganic fibers whose value “A” in the formula (1)exceeds approximately 6 micrometers are included in the first and thesecond outer layers. On the other hand, in a sheet member according tothe third embodiment of the present invention (a third sheet member),“bio-soluble inorganic fibers” are included in the first outer layerand/or the second outer layer.

The “bio-soluble inorganic fibers” generically refers to the inorganicfibers that satisfy so-called “Note-Q” requirements and that are notsubject to control as inorganic fibers based on the “EU directive”. Itshould be noted that according to the “Note-Q” standards of the “EUdirective”, the inorganic fibers fulfilling one of the followingconditions is not classified as a control subject:

A) A short-term biopersistence test by inhalation has shown that theinorganic fibers longer than 20 micrometers have a weighted half lifeless than 10 days;B) A short-term biopersistence test by intratracheal instillation hasshown that the inorganic fibers longer than 20 micrometers have aweighted half life less than 40 days;C) An appropriate intra-peritoneal test has shown no evidence of excesscarcinogenicity; orD) Absence of relevant pathogenicity or neoplastic changes in a suitablelong term inhalation test.

Even when such “bio-soluble inorganic fibers” are taken into a humanbody, since the “bio-soluble inorganic fibers” are dissolved in thehuman body and have little impact on the human body, the “bio-solubleinorganic fibers” are safe. Therefore, when the “bio-soluble inorganicfibers” are included in the first or the second outer layer of the sheetmember, the inorganic fibers scattered from the layer have little impacton the human body. Further, the scattering of the “fine fibers” includedin the center layer in the middle of the sheet member is controlled. Asa result, when the third sheet member is used, it is possible that thehandling of the sheet member becomes easier and the working environmentis significantly improved.

Fourth Embodiment

In the aforementioned three embodiments, the first and the second outersheets 82 and 86 are disposed one on each of the “main surfaces” of thecenter layer 84 to configure the sheet member of the embodiment of thepresent invention. However, the sheet member according to an embodimentof the present invention is not limited to such configuration.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another exemplary configuration of a sheet memberaccording to an embodiment of the present invention (a fourth sheetmember). FIG. 4 is a cut-open view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3.Similar to the sheet member 30 in FIG. 1, the sheet member 31 includesthe first outer layer 82, the center layer 84, and the second outerlayer 86, those layers being laminated in this order. However the fourthsheet member 31 is different from the sheet member 30 in FIG. 1 in thatthe sheet member 31 further includes a covering layer 88 provided so asto cover the entire side surface 40 of the sheet member 31.

In the sheet member 31 including the covering layer 88, the center layer84 is not exposed on the side surface 40 of the sheet member 31. Becauseof this structure, when, for example, the sheet member 31 is beinghandled, it is possible to control the scattering of the “fine fibers”outside from the sheet member 31. Therefore, it is possible to furthercontrol the scattering of the “fine fibers” outside from the sheetmember 31.

In FIG. 3, the covering layer 88 is provided so as to cover the entireside surface 40 of the sheet member 31. However, it should be noted thatthe covering layer 88 may be disposed so as to cover only a part of theside surface 40. In this case, the effect to control the scattering ofthe “fine fibers” is reduced compared with the sheet member 31 in FIG.3. Nevertheless, the scattering of the “fine fibers” can besignificantly controlled compared with the sheet member 30 in FIG. 1.

The covering layer 88 is disposed on the side surface 40 of the sheetmember 31, for example, with an adhesive agent or by stitching. Thecovering layer 88 may be any layer as long as the layer can control thescattering of the “fine fibers” and may be made of substantially thesame material as the first outer layer or the second outer layer.

Further, in FIG. 3, the first and the second outer layers includeinorganic fibers without the “fine fibers” similar to the first sheetmember. However, it is obvious that the inorganic fibers whose value “A”in formula (1) exceeds approximately 6 micrometers or the “bio-solubleinorganic fibers” may be included in the first and the second outerlayers like the second and the third sheet members.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary configuration of an exhaust gas treatmentapparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theexhaust gas treatment apparatus 10 includes an exhaust gas treatmentmember 20 with a holding and sealing member 24 twisted around the outersurface of the exhaust gas treatment member 20, a casing 12 housing theexhaust gas treatment member 20, and an inlet tube 2 and an outlet tube4 for exhaust gas. In the example of FIG. 5, the sheet member 30 in FIG.1 (or any one of the first through the third sheet members) is used asthe holding and sealing member 24. However, the sheet member 31 in FIG.3 (the fourth sheet member) may also be used as the holding and sealingmember 24. The inlet tube 2 and the outlet tube 4 have taper shapes nearthe casing so as to fit the casing 12. However, such a taper shape isnot always necessary. A heat insulating member 26 is provided on a partof the inlet tube 2 (taper section in the example of FIG. 5), therebypreventing the heat inside the exhaust gas treatment apparatus 10 fromtransferring outside through the inlet tube 2.

In this example of FIG. 5, the exhaust gas treatment member 20 is acatalyst carrier having openings for the inlet and the outlet of exhaustgas and plural cells (or through holes) disposed in the directionsubstantially parallel to the flow of exhaust gas. The catalyst carrieris made of, for example, porous silicon carbide having a honeycombstructure. It should be noted that the configuration of the exhaust gastreatment apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the exhaustgas treatment member 20 may be a DPF in which one of the end surfaces ofeach of the through holes is sealed to form checkered patterns at bothends.

In such an exhaust gas treatment apparatus, due to the effect of thesheet member described above, the scattering of the inorganic fiberswhen the sheet member is twisted around the exhaust gas treatment memberis significantly controlled. Further, the holding and the sealing membercan provide appropriate holding power to hold the exhaust gas treatmentmember.

In addition to the above, or besides the above, it is obvious to aperson having ordinary skill in this art that the heat insulating member26 may be configured with the sheet member according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Next, another application of the sheet member according to an embodimentof the present invention is described. FIG. 6 schematically shows anexemplary muffling apparatus having a sheet member according to anembodiment of the present invention. This muffling apparatus is disposedin the middle of an exhaust tube for, for example, a two-wheel vehicleor a four-wheel vehicle. The muffling apparatus 700 includes an innerpipe 720 (made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel), anouter shell 760 covering the outer circumference of the inner pipe 720(made of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel), and a soundabsorber 740 disposed between the inner pipe 720 and the outer shell760. Typically, plural small holes are formed on surface of the innerpipe 720. In such a muffling apparatus 700, when exhaust gas is passedthrough the inner pipe 720, noise of the exhaust gas is attenuated bythe sound absorber 740.

Here, the sheet member according to an embodiment of the presentinvention can be used as the sound absorber 740. By using any one of thefirst through the fourth sheet members as the sound absorber 740, due tothe effect described above, it is possible to significantly control thescattering of the inorganic fibers when the sheet member is twistedaround the inner pipe 720. Further, it is possible to control thereduction of the surface pressure between the inner pipe and the outershell.

Next, a method of forming a sheet member is described. In the following,the forming method of the sheet member 30 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention is described.

Typically, there are two methods of forming such a sheet member 30according to an embodiment of the present invention: a “laminatingmethod” and an “all-in-one forming method”.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of the “laminating method” toform a sheet member 30 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In this method, two layers including no “fine fibers” (thatis, the first outer layer 82 and the second outer layer 86) and thecenter layer 84 including the “fine fibers” are formed separately, andthen those layers are laminated and joined to form the sheet memberhaving a three-layer structure.

First, in step S100, the first outer layer including no “fine fibers” isformed. The first outer layer is formed by, for example, the “needlingprocessing method” or a “papermaking method” as described below. In thepresent application, it should be noted that the term “needlingprocessing method” includes any method of forming a sheet memberincluding a needling process in which fiber confounding units such asneedles are thrust into and pulled out of the sheet member. Further, inthe present application, it should be noted that the term “papermakingmethod” refers to a method of forming a sheet member including each stepof opening, slurring, forming, compressing, and drying fibers.

Next, in step S110, the second outer layer including no “fine fibers” isformed. The same as the first outer layer, the second outer layer isformed by, for example, the “needling processing method” or the“papermaking method”.

Next, in step S120, the center layer including the “fine fibers” isformed. The same as the first and the second outer layers, the centerlayer is also formed by, for example, the “needling processing method”or the “papermaking method”. It should be noted that the forming methods(for example, the “needling processing method” and the “papermakingmethod”) of those three layers may be the same or may be different fromeach other. Also the order of the forming steps is not alwaysnecessarily the same as the order of steps S100 through S120; forexample, the center layer may be formed before the first and the secondouter layers are formed.

Next, in step S130, these three layers are laminated in the order of thefirst outer layer, the center layer, and the second outer layer, andadjacent layers are adhered to each other. As a method of adheringlayers to each other, there are some methods such as using an “adhesivelayer”, made of, for example, a double-sided adhesive tape and adhesiveagent, provided at the boundary surface between the first/second outerlayer and the center layer to adhere the layers to each other throughthe generated “adhesive layer” or sewing adjoining layers through theboundary surface. As the former method using the “adhesive layer”,besides the method adhering the adjoining layers to each other throughthe “adhesive layer”, there is another method in which thermallyreversible films (such as a PE film and Warifu (Registered Trademark))are thermally adhered to both sides of the center layer and the facingsides of the outer layers at a temperature of approximately 140° C. and,for example, a double-sided adhesive tape or adhesive agent is appliedto one of the facing films so as to adhere those three layers to eachother. As the adhesive agent, acrylic-based adhesive agent,acrylate-based Latex or the like may be used. The thickness of thedouble-sided adhesive tape, the adhesive agent, and the thermallyreversible film is, for example, but not limited to, in the rangebetween approximately 0.02 mm and approximately 0.60 mm.

In the present application, the “adhesive layer” refers to a layerprovided at the boundary surface so as to join the center layer and twoouter layers, including the above-mentioned thermally reversible filmwhen it is used. Therefore, when the thermally reversible film is used,the thickness of one “adhesive layer” is determined by the quotation of(Thickness of thermally reversible film)*2+(Thickness of both-sidedadhesive tape (or adhesive agent)). Thickness of the “adhesive layer”is, for example, in the range between approximately 0.02 mm andapproximately 0.60 mm.

In the “laminating method”, a sheet member according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is formed through the steps described above.

In a typical “all-in-one forming method”, unlike the above-mentioned“laminating method”, a sheet member having a three-layer structure isformed through a sequence of processing steps. In the “all-in-oneforming method”, a sheet member is also formed by either the “needlingprocessing method” or the “papermaking method”. However, in the“all-in-one forming method”, since it is not necessary to prepare eachlayer independently and a single forming machine can be used, it isadvantageous that the forming process can be simplified.

In the following, examples of forming a sheet member according to theembodiments of the present invention are described in detail based onthe “laminating method” and the “all-in-one forming method”. In thefollowing, a sheet member including a mixture of alumina and silica asinorganic fibers is described as examples. It should be noted that theinorganic fibers are not limited to this mixture but may include onlyeither alumina or silica. Any other type of inorganic fibers may beused.

(Laminating Method 1)

As described above, in this laminating method, it is necessary toprepare each layer separately. Each layer is formed by the “needlingprocessing method” through each process of preparing spinning solution,blowing, needling, calcining, and impregnating binder.

(Preparing Process of Spinning Solution)

Silica sol is added to basic aluminum chloride aqueous solution withaluminum content 70 g/l and Al/Cl=approximately 1.8 (atom ratio) suchthat the composing ratio of alumina and silica is approximately 60-97:approximately 40-3 to prepare the precursor of inorganic fibers. Morepreferably, the composing ratio of alumina and silica is approximately70-97: approximately 30-3. This is because, when the composing ratio ofalumina is equal to or less than approximately 60%, the composing ratioof mullite prepared from alumina and silica is lowered, and the heatconductivity of each formed layer is increased. As a result, the thermalinsulating properties of each layer is apt to be reduced. On the otherhand, when the composing ratio of alumina exceeds approximately 97%, theflexibility of the inorganic fibers is lowered.

Next, organic polymer such as polyvinyl alcohol is added to theprecursor of the alumina-based fibers. Then the liquid is condensed toprepare a spinning solution.

(Blowing Process)

Next, fibers are formed by a blowing process using the obtained spinningsolution. The blowing process refers to a method of forming fibers usinga carrier flow blown through a carrier nozzle and a spinning solutionflow pushed out through a spinning solution supply nozzle. In thisprocess, the average diameter and the minimum diameters of alumina fiberprecursor is controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the carrier gas(air) and the supplying rate of the spinning solution. Therefore, inthis process, the average diameter and the minimum diameters of theinorganic fibers included in the formed outer layers and center layer isdetermined.

Typically, the diameter of the spinning solution supply nozzle is in therange between approximately 0.1 mm and approximately 0.5 mm. When theouter layers are formed, the typical air flow rate of the flow throughthe carrier nozzle is in the range between approximately 30 m/s andapproximately 150 m/s, and the typical supplying rate of the spinningsolution through the spinning solution supply nozzle is in the rangebetween approximately 1 ml/h and approximately 120 ml/h. On the otherhand, when the center layer is formed, the typical air flow rate of theflow through the carrier nozzle is in the range between approximately 40m/s and approximately 200 m/s, and typical supplying rate of thespinning solution through the spinning solution supply nozzle is in therange between approximately 1 ml/h and approximately 60 ml/h.

Next, a raw sheet is formed by laminating the precursors in which thefibers have been formed.

(Needling Process)

Next, a needling process is performed on the raw sheet. In the needlingprocess, a needling device is typically used.

Generally, the needling device includes a needle board reciprocallymovable in the thrusting direction (typically in the up-and-downdirection) and a pair of supporting boards provided on both sides facingthe front face and the rear face of the raw sheet. On the needle board,there are plenty of needles arranged in a density of, for example, 5 to5,000 needles per 100 cm² to thrust into the raw sheet. In eachsupporting board, there are plenty of through holes. Therefore, whilethe raw sheet is held down from both sides by a pair of the supportingboards, by bringing the needle board close to the raw sheet andseparating the needle board away from the raw sheet, the needles arethrust into and pulled out of the raw sheet to form a raw sheet in whichfibers are confounded. In this process, the needling device may includea conveying unit conveying the raw sheet at a constant speed (forexample, approximately 20 mm/s) in the predetermined direction (forexample, substantially parallel to the front and rear surfaces of theraw sheet). In this case, since it is possible to perform the needlingprocess while the raw sheet is being moved with a constant speed, it isno longer necessary to move the raw sheet manually every time after theneedle board presses and contacts the raw sheet.

As another configuration, the needling device may include a pair ofneedle boards as a set. Each needle board has its correspondingsupporting board. Two needle boards are provided on both the front andthe rear sides of the raw sheet, and the raw sheet is held down fromboth sides by the supporting boards. The needles on the needle boardsare arranged so that the positions of the needles on one needle boardare not overlapped with the positions of the needles on the other needleboard. Further, there are so many through holes provided in each of thesupporting boards in consideration of the positions of needles on bothneedle boards so that no needle should contact the supporting boardswhen the needling process is performed on both surfaces of the rawsheet. With such a device, the raw sheet may be held down from bothsurfaces by using the two supporting boards and the needling process isperformed on the raw sheet from both surfaces by using a pair of needleboards. When needles are thrust by such a method, the outer and centerlayers each having a high density of needle traces can be formed easily.

(Calcining Process)

Next, thus obtained raw sheet is heated from room temperature toapproximately 1,250° C. and the temperature is maintained forapproximately 0.5 to approximately 2 hours for continuous calcination toprepare the outer and center layers for the sheet member.

(Impregnating and Adding Binder Process)

When necessary, binder impregnating and adding process may be furtherperformed to impregnate the outer and center layers with binder such asorganic resin. By performing this process, a bulk height of the outerand center layers can be reduced and the separation of fibers from acompleted sheet member can be further reduced. However, the binderimpregnating and adding process is not always necessarily performed inthis step. For example, the binder impregnating and adding process maybe performed after the center layer is joined to the two outer layers(that is, after the sheet member is formed).

In the impregnating and adding process, the adding amount of the binderis preferably in the range between approximately 1.0 wt % andapproximately 10.0 wt %. When it is more than approximately 1.0 wt %,the separation-prevention effect of inorganic fibers is not reduced. Onthe other hand, when it is less than approximately 10.0 wt %, the amountof organic component (decomposed gas of the binder) exhausted is notincreased while the exhaust gas treatment apparatus is being operated.

As binder, organic binder such as epoxy resin, acrylate resin,rubber-based resin, and styrene-based resin may be used. Also, forexample, acrylic rubber (ACM), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), andstyrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) resin may be used.

The outer and center layers are impregnated with the binder by spraycoating using the aqueous dispersion prepared by adding water to thebinder. By this process, extra solid content and liquid added into theouter and center layers can be removed as described below.

The extra solid content is removed by a suction method using a suctiondevice such as a vacuum pump. Also, the extra water may be removed byheating the sheet member at a temperature between approximately 90° C.and approximately 160° C. and/or by compressing the sheet member at apressure between approximately 40 kPa and approximately 100 kPa.

Through such processes, the outer and center layers impregnated with thebinder are formed.

(Joining Process of Outer and Center Layers)

Next, the outer layers are laminated onto the front and rear surfaces ofthe center layer to join the three layers. As described above, themethods of joining the three layers include a method using the “adhesivelayer” and a method of sewing adjoining layers through the boundarysurface. By such a method, the sheet member according to an embodimentof the present invention can be formed.

(Laminating Method 2)

In another example of the laminating method, a “papermaking method” isused to manufacture each layer. In the “papermaking method”, each layeris formed through the processes of opening, slurrying, forming, andcompressing and drying fibers.

(Opening Fibers)

First, an opening process of inorganic fibers is preformed. The openingprocess is performed through a dry-type opening process alone or throughtwo processes consisting of the dry-type opening process and a wet-typeopening process. In the dry-type opening process, a device such as aFeathermill may be used to open the raw fibers. On the other hand, inthe wet-type opening process, the flocculated dry-type opened fibersobtained by the above-mentioned dry-type opening process are fed into awet-type opening device to further perform the opening process. In thewet-type opening process, a wet-type opening device such as Pulper isused. Through such an opening process, the opened raw fibers can beobtained.

(Slurrying Process)

Next, thus obtained raw fibers are fed into a stirring device and arestirred for, for example, approximately 1 to approximately 5 minutes sothat the relative weight of the raw fibers to water is in the rangebetween approximately 1 wt % and approximately 2 wt % to prepare amixture. Next, organic binder with approximately 4 wt % to approximately8 wt % of the raw fibers is added to the mixture and the mixture isstirred for, for example, approximately 1 to approximately 5 minutes.Further, a flocculant with approximately 0.5 wt % of the raw fibers isadded to the mixture and the mixture is stirred for up to 2 minutes toprepare raw slurry.

As inorganic binder, for example, alumina sol and/or silica gel areused. As organic binder, for example, a rubber-based material, awater-soluble organic polymer compound, thermoreversible resin, andthermohardening resin are used. As a flocculant, for example, Percol 292(Ciba Specialty Chemicals) is used.

(Forming Process)

Next, the obtained raw slurry is fed into a forming device having adesired shape and is dehydrated. In a typical case, at the bottom of theforming device, there may be provided a filtering mesh (mesh size is,for example, 30 meshes) and, through the meshes, extra water in the rawslurry fed into the forming device is drained. Therefore, by using sucha forming device, both forming the raw slurry in the desired shape anddehydrating the raw slurry can be performed at the same time. Whennecessary, extra water may be compulsorily sucked from the lower side ofthe forming device through the filtering meshes using, for example, asuction pump or a vacuum pump.

(Compressing and Drying Process)

Next, the thus obtained formed body is removed from the forming deviceand is compressed using a compression device so that the thicknessbecomes approximately 0.3 to approximately 0.5 times the thicknessbefore this process, and is heated and dehydrated at a temperaturebetween approximately 90° C. and approximately 150° C. for approximately5 minutes to approximately 1 hour to obtain the outer layers.

The center layer can be formed by the same processes.

The binder impregnating and adding process may be performed as performedin the “laminating method 1” using the obtained outer layer. However, asdescribed above, in a case of the “laminating method”, such binderimpregnating and adding process may be performed after the three layersare joined.

Next, after three layers are laminated, by using the above-mentionedmethod (using a both-sided adhesive tape, an adhesive agent, or bysewing) the layers can be joined to manufacture the sheet memberaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

(All-in-One Forming Method 1)

In the “all-in-one forming method”, the “needling processing method” andthe “papermaking method” can also be used. In the “all-in-one formingmethod 1”, an “all-in-one forming method” based on the “papermakingmethod” is described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a process of the all-in-one forming method1 to form a sheet member according to the present invention. Through theseries of processes in this method, a sheet member having a three-layerstructure is formed using the “papermaking method”.

In this method, a process of step S200, opening and slurrying processes,is the same as in the “laminating method 2”. But the processes in andafter step S210 in this method are different from the processes in theabove-mentioned method.

More specifically, in step S210 of this method, first raw slurry is fedinto a forming device and is dehydrated. Then, before the raw sheet isremoved (that is in half-dehydrated condition), second raw slurry isadded on the dehydrated forming body (hereinafter “first forming body”)(step S220). Here, it should be noted that the inorganic fibers includedin the first raw slurry do not include the “fine fibers”, and theinorganic fibers included in the second raw slurry include the “finefibers”.

Next, the extra water included in the second raw slurry is drained fromthe lower side of the forming device through the first forming body andthe filtering meshes to dehydrate the second raw slurry to prepare thesecond forming body. As described above, when necessary, the water maybe compulsorily sucked from the lower side of the forming device.

Next, in step S230, before a “two-layered forming body” consisting ofthe first and the second forming bodies is removed (that is, in thehalf-dehydrated condition), third raw slurry is added on the“two-layered forming body”. Further, the extra water included in thethird raw slurry is drained from the lower side of the forming devicethrough the “two-layered forming body” and the filtering meshes todehydrate the third raw slurry. As described above, when necessary, thewater may be compulsorily sucked from the lower side of the formingdevice. Here, it should be noted that the inorganic fibers included inthe third raw slurry should not include the “fine fibers” and the thirdraw slurry may be the same as or different from the first raw slurry.

Through the above series of processes, a “laminated formed body” havinga three-layer structure is obtained.

Next, in step S240, the “laminated formed body” is removed from theforming device and is compressed using, for example, a pressing deviceso that the thickness becomes approximately 0.3 to approximately 0.5times the thickness before this step and is simultaneously heated anddehydrated at a temperature between, for example, approximately 90° C.and approximately 150° C. for approximately 5 minutes to approximately 1hour. By this method, in a series of processes, a sheet member having athree-layer structure can be formed at one time. The above-mentionedbinder impregnating and adding process may be further performed usingthe obtained sheet member.

In this method, the thus obtained sheet member has an advantage in thatthe bonding strength of the boundary surface is higher than that of thesheet member formed through a process of joining each of the layersusing, for example, an adhesive agent. The reason for this is that thecontacting area between the layers becomes larger since, in this method,before a layer is fully formed, the adjoining layer is laminateddirectly on the layer.

(All-in-One Forming Method 2)

The “all-in-one forming method 2” is the “all-in-one forming method”based on the “needling processing method”.

In this method as well, generally, a sheet member is formed using thesame processes as in the above-mentioned “laminating method 1”. But, inthis all-in-one forming method 2, in the process of preparing thespinning solution through blowing spinning, a precursor having athree-layer structure is laminated at one time to manufacture the rawsheet. Then, in the needling process, the needling process is performedon the raw sheet having the laminated three layers, thereby obtainingthe raw sheet having a three-layer structure. It should be noted that,in the three-layered precursor, in the blowing spinning process, thecenter layer is formed so as to include the “fine fibers” and the outerlayers are formed so as not to include the “fine fibers”.

The processes after the above process in this method are the same as theprocesses in the “laminating method 1”. But, obviously, a process ofjoining each of the layers is no longer necessary in this method.

In each of above-mentioned forming methods, cases where a sheet memberhaving a three-layer structure are described. However, it is obviousthat the present invention described herein is also applicable to anycase where a sheet member has more than a three-layer structure as longas the upper- and lower-most layers of the sheet member do not includethe “fine fibers”. Such a sheet member having a multi-layered structuremay be easily formed by, for example, laminating more than three layersin the “laminating method 1” and the “laminating method 2” or furtheradding fourth raw slurry to the top of the third raw slurry in the“all-in-one forming method 1”.

In the above description, the forming method is described using thefirst sheet member. However, it is obvious for a person having anordinary skill in the art that the described method is basicallyapplicable to the second through the fourth sheet members as well.

EXAMPLE

The advantages of the embodiments of the present invention are describedbelow with reference to the following embodiments.

To verify the advantages of the embodiment of the present invention,sheet members according to the embodiment of the present inventions areformed by the above-mentioned “laminating method” and various tests areperformed. The sheet member is formed by the following processes.

Example 1

A first outer layer is formed by the “needling processing method”.First, silica sol is added to basic aluminum chloride aqueous solutionwith aluminum content of 70 g/l and Al/Cl=1.8 (atom ratio) such that therelative proportion of Al₂O₃:SiO₂ in alumina-based fibers is 72:28 toprepare the precursor of alumina-based fibers. Next, polyvinyl alcoholis added to the precursor of alumina-based fibers. Further, this liquidis condensed to prepare a spinning solution. From the spinning solution,fibers are formed by the blowing spinning process. The flow rate of thecarrier gas (air) is 52 m/s and the supplying rate of the spinningsolution is 5.3 ml/h.

Then, the precursor of the alumina-based fibers is folded and laminatedto manufacture a raw sheet of alumina-based fibers.

Next, the needling process is performed to the obtained raw sheet. Inthe needling process, a needling board having needles at a density of 80needles per 100 cm² is provided on one side of the raw sheet and theneedling is performed from the one side of the sheet member. Since theentire length of the needles is longer than the entire thickness of thesheet member, the needles can pass through the sheet member completelywhen the needling board presses and contacts from the one side.

Then, the obtained sheet member is heated from room temperature to1,250° C. and the temperature is maintained for one hour for continuouscalcination. Next, the obtained first outer layer is impregnated withbinder. As the binder, acrylate-based Latex Emulsion is used and theimpregnation amount is 5 wt % of the total weight.

By the same method, the second outer layer is obtained. The averagediameter and the minimum diameters of the alumina-based fibers includedin the first and the second outer layers are 7.2 micrometers and 3.2micrometers, respectively. The thickness and the basis weight of eachlayer are 0.3 mm and 60 g/m², respectively.

By the same method, the center layer is formed. In the blowing spinningprocess in forming the center layer, the air flow rate is 63 m/s and thesupplying rate of the spinning solution is 4.3 ml/h. The averagediameter and the minimum diameters of the alumina-based fibers includedin the center layer are 5.1 micrometers and 2.4 micrometers,respectively. The thickness and the basis weight of each layer are 6.8mm and 1,080 g/m², respectively.

Next, the first outer layer, the center layer, and the second outerlayer are joined by using a double-sided adhesive tape (thickness 100micrometers provided by Beiersdor) in this order to manufacture a sheetmember having a three-layer structure. The weight ratio of the firstouter layer:the center layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 5:90:5.This example is called example 1.

Example 2

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 0.7 mm and120 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 6.0mm and 960 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 10:80:10. This example iscalled example 2.

Example 3

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 0.9 mm and180 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 5.6mm and 840 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 15:70:15. This example iscalled example 3.

Example 4

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 1.4 mm and240 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 4.6mm and 720 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 20:60:20. This example iscalled example 4.

Example 5

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 1.8 mm and300 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 3.8mm and 600 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 25:50:25. This example iscalled example 5.

Example 6

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 2.2 mm and360 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 3.0mm and 480 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 30:40:30. This example iscalled example 6.

Example 7

By the same method as used in the example 1, a sheet member having athree-layer structure is formed. But in this example, the first and thesecond outer layers whose thicknesses and basis weights are 2.6 mm and420 g/m² and the center layer whose thickness and basis weight are 2.2mm and 360 g/m² are used. The weight ratio of the first outer layer:thecenter layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 35:30:35. This example iscalled example 7.

Example 8

The first outer layer is formed by the “papermaking method”.

First, an opening process of inorganic fibers is preformed. As theopening process, only the dry-type opening process using the Feathermillis performed. Next, the obtained raw fibers are fed into a stirringdevice and stirred for approximately 1 minute such that the relativeweight of the raw fibers to water is between 1 wt % and 2 wt % toprepare a mixture. Next, approximately 5 wt % of organic binder is addedto the mixture and the mixture is stirred for approximately 1 minute.Further, approximately 0.5 wt % of inorganic binder is added to themixture and the mixture is stirred for approximately 1 minute. Stillfurther, approximately 0.5 wt % of a flocculant is added to the mixtureand the mixture is stirred for up to approximately 2 minutes to prepareraw slurry.

As inorganic binder, alumina sol is used. As organic binder, theacrylate-based Latex is used. As a flocculant, the Percol 292 is used.

Next, the obtained raw slurry is fed into a forming device with thesizes of 800 mm×500 mm (mesh size is 30 meshes) for further dehydration.

Next, the thus obtained formed body is removed from the forming deviceand is compressed using a pressing device so that the thickness becomessubstantially 0.5 times the thickness before this compression and issimultaneously heated and dehydrated at a temperature of 150° C. for 5minutes to obtain the first outer layer.

The second outer layer is also formed in the same method of forming thefirst outer layer. The average diameter and the minimum diameters of thealumina-based fibers included in the first and the second outer layersare 7.2 micrometers and 3.2 micrometers, respectively. The thickness andthe basis weight of each layer are 0.8 mm and 120 g/m², respectively.

Further, the center layer is also formed by the same method. In theopening process when the center layer is formed, the dry-type openingusing the Feathermill is performed. The average diameter and the minimumdiameters of the alumina-based fibers included in the center layer are5.1 micrometers and 2.4 micrometers, respectively. The thickness and thebasis weight of the layer are 6.4 mm and 960 g/m², respectively.

Next, the first outer layer, the center layer, and the second outerlayer are joined by using a double-sided adhesive tape (thickness 100micrometers provided by Beiersdor) in this order to manufacture a sheetmember having a three-layer structure. The weight ratio of the firstouter layer:the center layer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 10:80:10.This example is called example 8.

Comparative Example 1

The center layer is formed by the same method as in example 1. The basisweight and the thickness of the center layer are 1,200 g/m² and 7.4 mm,respectively. But in this comparative example, no outer layers areformed; therefore there is provided only a single layer of the centerlayer. This comparative example is called comparative example 1.

Comparative Example 2

The first and the second outer layers are formed by the same method inexample 1. The basis weight and the thickness of the first and thesecond outer layers are 600 g/m² and 3.7 mm, respectively. In thiscomparative example, no center layer is formed, and the first outerlayer and the second outer layer are joined together using a both-sidedadhesive tape (thickness 100 micrometers provided by Beiersdor) tomanufacture the sheet member. The weight ratio of the first outerlayer:the second outer layer (wt %) is 50:50. This comparative exampleis called comparative example 2.

Table 1 shows the basis weight, the thickness, and the weight ratio ofthe both outer layers and center layer, and the comparative thickness ofthe first and second outer layers to the thickness of the sheet memberin examples 1 through 8 and comparative examples 1 and 2.

TABLE 1 FIRST OUTER LAYER CENTER LAYER SECOND OUTER LAYER (AVERAGE FIBER(AVERAGE FIBER AVERAGE FIBER DIAMETER 7.2 μm) DIAMETER 5.1 μm) DIAMETER7.2 μm) (MINIMUM FIBER (MINIMUM FIBER (MINIMUM FIBER FORMING DIAMETER3.2 μm) DIAMETER 2.4 μm) DIAMETER 3.2 μm) METHOD OF BASIS THICK- WEIGHTBASIS WEIGHT BASIS WEIGHT SHEET WEIGHT NESS RATIO WEIGHT THICKNESS RATIOWEIGHT THICKNESS RATIO MEMBER (g/m²) (mm) (wt %) (g/m²) (mm) (wt %)(g/m²) (mm) (wt %) EXAMPLE 1 NEEDLING  60 0.3 5 1080 6.8 90  60 0.3 5PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 2 NEEDLING 120 0.7 10 960 6.0 80 120 0.7 10PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 3 NEEDLING 180 0.9 15 840 5.6 70 180 0.9 15PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 4 NEEDLING 240 1.4 20 720 4.6 60 240 1.4 20PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 5 NEEDLING 300 1.8 25 600 3.8 50 300 1.8 25PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 6 NEEDLING 360 2.2 30 480 3.0 40 360 2.2 30PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 7 NEEDLING 420 2.6 35 360 2.2 30 420 2.6 35PROCESSING METHOD EXAMPLE 8 PAPERMAKING 120 0.8 10 960 6.4 80 120 0.8 10METHOD COMPAR- NEEDLING — — 0 1200 7.4 100 — — 0 ATIVE PROCESSINGEXAMPLE 1 METHOD COMPAR- NEEDLING 600 3.7 50 — — 0 600 3.7 50 ATIVEPROCESSING EXAMPLE 2 METHOD THICKNESS RATIO OF RESULT OF FIRST ANDRESTORATION FIBER AIR SECOND RESTORATION PRESSURE EROSION LAYERS TOPRESSURE REDUCTION TEST THICKNESS AFTER 1000 RATE AFTER MIX RATE OF OFENTIRE TEST 1000 TEST FIBERS HAVING SHEET MEMBER CYCLES CYCLE DIAMETERLESS (%) (kPa) (%) THAN 3 μm (%) EXAMPLE 1 8.1 92.9 51.3 0.3 EXAMPLE 218.9 87.0 53.6 0.3 EXAMPLE 3 24.3 75.1 57.8 0.3 EXAMPLE 4 37.8 69.4 60.60.3 EXAMPLE 5 48.6 63.2 62.6 0.3 EXAMPLE 6 59.5 59.1 64.7 0.3 EXAMPLE 770.3 55.9 66.3 0 EXAMPLE 8 20.0 61.3 52.4 0.3 COMPARATIVE — 96.2 50.41.2 EXAMPLE 1 COMPARATIVE 100 47.4 68.8 0 EXAMPLE 2

(Fiber Air Erosion Test)

A fiber air erosion test is performed on each of the obtained sheetmembers. The result of this test provides the prediction of thescattering status of the “fine fibers” when each of the sheet membersare being actually handled.

FIG. 9 shows a part of a fiber air erosion testing device. The fiber airerosion test is performed as follows. First, each of the above sheetmembers is cut into the figure shown in FIG. 1 (max length 262 mm in theX direction×max length 83.5 mm in the Y direction) and the obtained eachsheet member is used as the test sample 160. The test sample 160 iscontained in a vinyl bag 120 larger than the test sample 160. The testsample 160 is fixed to its position close to one side of the vinyl bag120 using clips 130 as shown in FIG. 9. The vinyl bag 120 is filled withan appropriate amount of air and is sealed. Next, the vinyl bag 120 isfixed to one side of an arm 140, (with the entire length of 80 cm)extended from a test device 110, using the above or the other clips. Theother side of the arm 140 is connected to a vertical wall 150 of thetest device 110. The vertical wall 150 is made of metal, and itsprincipal plane is positioned parallel to the XZ plane of FIG. 9. Thethickness (in the Y direction) of the vertical wall 150 is 25 mm. Thearm 140 is capable of rotating within a plane (YZ plane) vertical to theprincipal plane of the vertical wall 150 around a fulcrum where the arm140 is connected to the vertical wall 150. The arm 140 can rotate atleast 90 degrees from a position where the arm is substantially parallelwith the principal plane. However, before this test is started, the arm140 is fixed at substantially 90 degrees with respect to the verticaldirection (that is fixed substantially horizontally) using a catch (notshown). From this position, when the catch is released, the arm 140rotates substantially 90 degrees along the arrow (shown in FIG. 9)direction in the YZ plane, and accordingly the vinyl bag 120 rotatesalong the arrow and collides with the vertical wall 150. The impact ofthe collision brings the scattering of the inorganic fibers from thetest sample 160 of the sheet member. However, the scattered inorganicfibers are trapped insides the vinyl bag 120. Then the vinyl bag isgently opened, and the scattered fibers sticking to the vinyl bag 120are collected using an adhesion tape (1 cm×1 cm). Next, a scanningelectron telescope is used to take pictures with 1,500 timesmagnification at appropriate positions on the adhesive tape and thediameters of the inorganic fibers are measured. The measurement isperformed by measuring approximately 300 fibers and a scattering rate ofthe “fine fibers” is obtained using the following equation:

Scattering rate of “fine fibers”=(A/B)*100

where

A: the number of inorganic fibers having a diameter of 3 micrometers orless

B: the number of measured inorganic fibers

The results of each sheet member are shown in Table 1. The results inTable 1 show that the scattering rate in comparative example 1 is 1.2%;on the other hand, the scattering rates of the sheet member in examples1 through 8 are 0.3% or less. As a result, the scattering rate of thesheet members having a three-layer structure according to theembodiments of the present invention can be remarkably reduced.

(Compression and Restoration Repeated Test)

A compression and restoration repeated test is performed on each of theobtained sheet members. In this test, each sheet member is compressedand then restored to repeat this cycle up to 1,000 times and the changeof the surface pressure of the sheet member is measured. From the resultof this test, the downward trend of the holding power of each of thesheet members can be comparatively evaluated.

FIG. 10 shows a device 310 used in this compression and restorationrepeated test. The device 310 includes a sample holding plate 320provided substantially horizontally and a pair of supporting posts 330provided on the holding plate 320. At the center of the device 310(above the sample holding place 320), there is a crosshead 340 having aweight-measuring function, provided so as to move up and down. On thelower surface side of the crosshead 340, there is provided an upperpressing member 350 made of stainless steel, formed in a half-cylindershape having a diameter of approximately 103 mm. The upper pressingmember 350 is equipped with a displacement meter 360. On the sampleholding plate 320 there is provided a lower tray member 370, made ofstainless steel and formed in a half-cylinder shape having a diameter ofapproximately 111 mm. The inside part of the half-cylinder of the lowertray member 370 is hollowed out so that the inside part faces and fitsthe outer shape of the upper pressing member 350. When the test is beingperformed, each sample 380 of the sheet members having a known weight(with sizes of 50 cm×50 cm) is placed on the inner surface of the lowertray member 370.

By the following method using such a device 310, measurements areperformed. First, the position of the crosshead 340 is previouslylowered to the level where there should be no significant gap capable ofbeing easily recognized between the sample 380 and the upper pressingmember 350. In this position, the crosshead 340 is moved downward at aspeed of 1 mm/min to compress the sample 380. When the bulk density ofthe sample reaches 0.4 g/cm³, the load applied to the sample 380 ismeasured. The bulk density of the sample 380 is calculated by thefollowing equation:

Bulk density=(C/D)/E.

where

C: weight of sample 380

D: area of sample 380

E: distance between upper pressing member 350 and lower tray member 370

The obtained load is divided by the area of the sample to obtain thecompression pressure (kPa).

Next, the crosshead 340 is moved upward at a speed of 1 mm/min torestore the sample 380. When the bulk density of the sample reaches0.367 g/cm³, the load applied to the sample 380 is measured. Theobtained load is divided by the area of the sample to obtain arestoration pressure (kPa). This test cycle (compress and restore) isrepeated 1,000 times to measure the changes of the values of thecompression pressure and the restoration pressure. The same measurementis repeated three times for each of the samples to obtain the averagevalues. The averaged values are used as the result of the test.

The obtained results of each of the samples are shown in FIGS. 11through 14, and Table 1. In FIGS. 11 and 12, the horizontal axisrepresents the weight ratio (wt %) of the outer layer(s) with respect tothe weight of the sheet member. The vertical axes in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12represent the restoration pressure (kPa) and a pressure reduction rate(%), respectively, after 1,000 times repetition of the test cycle. Thepressure reduction rate is calculated by the following equation:

Pressure reduction rate=F/G

where

F: (restoration pressure after one test cycle

-   -   restoration pressure after 1,000 times repetition of test cycle)

G: restoration pressure after one test cycle

Further, in FIGS. 13 and 14, the horizontal axis represents a thicknessratio (%) of the outer layers with respect to the total thickness Thevertical axes in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 represent the restoration pressure(kPa) and a pressure reduction rate (%), respectively, after 1,000repetitions of the test cycle.

A result of the test shows that the restoration pressure of the sheetmember in comparative example 2 is reduced by as much as 68.8%. Incontrast, the restoration pressure of the sheet members after 1,000repetitions of the test cycle in examples 1 through 8 according to theembodiment of the present invention are maintained at higher levels andthe maximum pressure reducing rate among them is 66.3%.

Specifically, the values of the pressure reduction rate of the sheetmembers in examples 1 through 5 and 8 (weight ratio of the outer layers:10-50 wt %, thickness ratio of the outer layers: 8-50%) after 1,000repetitions of the test cycle are less than 62.6%, thereby showingsufficient reduction attenuation effect of the pressure. Morespecifically, the values of the pressure reduction rate of the sheetmembers in examples 1, 2, and 8 (weight ratio of the outer layers: 10-20wt %, thickness ratio of the outer layers: 8-22%) are in the rangebetween 51.3% and 53.6%, which are low reducing rates since the obtainedrate values are comparable with 50.4% which is the rate value of aconventional sheet member (obtained in comparative example 1).

According to the result in FIG. 12, when the weight ratio (W) of theamount of the first and the second outer layers with respect to thetotal weight of the entire sheet is in a range greater than 50 wt %, thepressure reduction rate is apt to asymptotically approach the maximumvalue (68.8% in comparative example 2). Further, when the weight ratio(W) is in a range equal to or less than 20 wt %, the pressure reductionrate is apt to asymptotically approach the minimum value (50.4% incomparative example 1).

Similarly, according to the result in FIG. 14, when the thickness ratio(t) of the amount of the first and the second outer layers with respectto the total thickness of the entire sheet is in a range greater than50%, the pressure reduction rate is apt to asymptotically approach themaximum value (68.8% in comparative example 2). Further, when thethickness ratio (t) is in a range equal to or less than 20%, thepressure reduction rate is apt to asymptotically approach the minimumvalue (50.4% in comparative example 1).

According to the above results, the weight ratio (W) of the amount ofthe first and the second outer layers with respect to the total weightof the entire sheet is preferably in a range of greater than 0 wt % toequal to or less than 50 wt %, and more preferably in a range of greaterthan 0 wt % to equal to or less than 20 wt %. Further, the thicknessratio (t) of the amount of the first and the second outer layers withrespect to the total thickness of the entire sheet is preferably in arange greater than 0% to equal to or less than 50%, and more preferablyin a range of greater than 0% to equal to or less than 20%. However, asdescribed above, practically, it is conceived that the weight ratio ofthe outer layers (W) is equal to or greater than 2 wt % and thethickness ratio of the outer layers (t) is equal to or greater than 1%.

The sheet member according to the embodiments of the present inventionis applicable to, for example, an exhaust gas treatment apparatus, aholding and sealing member, and a heat insulating member for a vehicle,and a sound absorber of a muffling apparatus.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforeto be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

1. A method of forming a sheet member including inorganic fibers, themethod comprising: feeding first raw slurry including inorganic fibershaving a minimum diameter of substantially greater than 3 micrometersinto a forming device; dehydrating the first raw slurry to form a firstforming body; feeding second raw slurry including inorganic fibershaving a minimum diameter substantially equal to or less than 3micrometers on the dehydrated first slurry; dehydrating the second rawslurry to form a second forming body on the first forming body; feedingthird raw slurry including inorganic fibers having a minimum diametersubstantially greater than 3 micrometers into the forming device;dehydrating the third raw slurry to form a third forming body on thefirst and the second forming bodies; and compressing and dehydrating aforming body having a three-layer structure where the third forming bodyis formed on the first and the second forming bodies to form a sheetmember having a three-layer structure.
 2. An exhaust gas treatmentapparatus comprising: an exhaust gas treatment member; and a holding andsealing member twisted around at least one part on an outercircumference surface of the exhaust gas treatment member, wherein theholding and sealing member includes a sheet member which includesinorganic fibers, the sheet member comprising: first and second outerlayers; and a center layer, wherein the first outer layer, the centerlayer, and the second outer layer are laminated with each other suchthat both the first and the second outer layers are outermost layers,the center layer includes inorganic fibers having a diameter equal to orless than approximately 3 micrometers, and the first and the secondouter layers include inorganic fibers having a diameter greater thanapproximately 3 micrometers.
 3. An exhaust gas treatment apparatuscomprising: an inlet tube and an outlet tube for exhaust gas; an exhaustgas treatment member disposed between the inlet tube and the outlettube; and a heat insulating member disposed at least on a part of theinlet tube and including a sheet member which includes inorganic fibers,the sheet member comprising: first and second outer layers; and a centerlayer, wherein the first outer layer, the center layer, and the secondouter layer are laminated with each other such that both the first andthe second outer layers are outermost layers, the center layer includesinorganic fibers having a diameter equal to or less than approximately 3micrometers, and the first and the second outer layers include inorganicfibers having a diameter greater than approximately 3 micrometers. 4.The exhaust gas treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theexhaust gas treatment member is a catalyst carrier or an exhaust gasfilter.
 5. A muffling apparatus comprising: an inner pipe; an outershell covering an outer circumference of the inner pipe; and a soundabsorber including a sheet member and provided between the inner pipeand the outer shell so that a first outer layer of the sheet memberfaces the outer shell, the sheet member including inorganic fibers andcomprising: first and second outer layers; and a center layer, whereinthe first outer layer, the center layer, and the second outer layer arelaminated with each other such that both the first and the second outerlayers are outermost layers, the center layer includes inorganic fibershaving a diameter equal to or less than approximately 3 micrometers, andthe first and the second outer layers include inorganic fibers having adiameter greater than approximately 3 micrometers.